I would have to say this is the number one question we get when we attend public juicing events.
When processing produce for juice, we end up with a by-product we call ‘Mash’. You know… all the fibrous material that squishes out of the end of the Mobile Juice Factory press.
Once produce is fed into the machine, it is washed and finely milled in our industrial blender, the inside of which, looks pretty much like a big cheese grater.
The pomace is then moved to the screw press. While it is put under vacuum, the screw moves and squishes the pomace up against a press place. All said and done, the juice is extracted from the fiber, and the fibrous pulp is pushed out of the end of the press into bins.
Generally, it is up to the farm hosting the juicing event to recycle the mash that comes from their juice. There are several beneficial and creative ways to use the mash.
1. It makes for an excellent treat for livestock! Cows, chickens, ducks, pigs and even goats go nuts over this healthy snack. They just can’t seem to get enough of it, and who could blame them? “It smells amazing”!
2. It also makes excellent compost! What better way to nourish the earth than with a healthy heap of compostable fruit and veggie waste. The mash is so finely ground-up that there is lots of surface area for the air, sun and bugs to work their composting magic.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “How many bins of apples does it take for The Mobile Juice Factory to produce one bin of mash?”
Well, It all depends on the freshness of the produce, and the variety, but a general rule of thumb is that it takes about 3200lbs of apples to make 1 bin of mash.
If you happened to be curious about the mash, I hope this little article has helped to demystify this wonderful and super beneficial by-product of juicing.
